Warren bedevils Manual in quarters

Friday

Dec 28, 2012 at 2:30 PMDec 28, 2012 at 2:33 PM

Warren moves into semifinal round again

Erich Murphy

Warren pulled off the first upset of the 82nd Pontiac Tournament to punch its ticket to the semifinal round after defeating second-seed Peoria Manual 65-40 in the first quarterfinal-round game of the major bracket Friday. “We really challenged them last night after the game, at the motel, at walk-through. You name it we were after them about the effort,” Warren head coach Ryan Webber said after his club made the trophy round for the third straight year. Webber called his team “a work in progress.” It was a progressive movement forward that lifted the Blue Devils. Defense was a key factor. “That’s how we have to play; we don’t play a zone defense, we play active and that’s the point we try to bring home,” Webber said. He speaking about the difference between the two games his team has played in the tournament. Defense was big in the second period when Aarius Austin and Derek Mason each came up with steals and converted them to scores to give WHS a push. Warren led 8-7 after one period but trailed early in the second before the defense picked up. The Blue Devils outscored the Rams 21-14 in the second for a 29-21 halftime lead. The margin grew by four points in the third period and the Blue Devils locked up their spot in the semifinals with a 22-9 difference in the fourth frame. “We just want to keep working on getting better but there’s a lot to still play for,” Webber said. Austin finished with 17 points for the Blue Devils. Adrian Deere added 13 points and Drevon Hill chipped in 8. Kashmiere Hughes paced Manual with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Justin Williams and Anton Ivy tallied 10 points apiece.